Orchard House Smoothie

If you want to get married under the breathtaking view of Mount Hood in Oregon, you might consider Mount Hood Organic Orchards for your site. If you choose this particular venue for your vows, you and your family and friends will also enjoy stunning food, from Ginger Power’s Orchard House Catering. Ginger sources organic and local and cooks to showcase the food—her inspiration is Alice Waters and Chez Panisse and all things elegant and simple.

In July I twice accompanied Ginger to the Wednesday Portland Farmer’s Market to pick up food for double event weekends. She had to be back in Hood River by 2pm because the her kitchen crew would be there and ready to unload her tightly packed car and begin prep for the next 4 or 5 days.

Ginger and Pierce

The first Sunday I was there in the Columbia River Gorge, I splurged on an Outstanding in the Field dinner with Ginger and her husband Pierce. We drove to Anne Amie Vineyards in the Willamette Valley on a hot hot Sunday to partake in a lavish family-style meal and plenty of good wine shared on a long table with 75 new friends.

I love hanging out with Ginger and distracting her from her busy summer’s work.

One day at the house with the commercial kitchen in the basement, Ginger and Pierce were doing payroll and I came over to blog. We sat around the dining room table, noses to the computer, trying not to distract each other from our work. Ha Ha. Pierce had just made his green smoothie so they shared their breakfast with me.

The nice mix of greens we got in our Ranui Gardens CSA box this week is perfect in this smoothie.

Orchard House Smoothie

Several handfuls of greens e.g. kale, spinach, chard

1 banana

1 scoop spirulina or other green powder (I use Pure Synergy)

1 ½ cups juice (Pierce uses cranberry juice)

2 ½ to 3 cups water

Put all of the ingredients and blend until smooth. Share with a friend or partner.

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Pesto Grilled Tofu

Let’s make pesto with the lemon basil and sweet “Genovese” basil in our Ranui Gardens CSA box and this time slather it on tofu, like I described in the last post. But let’s grill instead of bake the tofu out of respect for the heat—it’s just too hot to turn on the oven.

Start steaming brown rice before even pulling the tofu from the fridge so it will be cooked and ready to serve with the hot-off-the-grill tofu.

14 ounces (or thereabouts)  extra firm tofu

1/3 to 1/2 cup fresh basil pesto

Prepare the tofu. Turn the block on its side and cut into three thinner blocks, 1/2 to 5/8-inch thick. Keep the blocks in a stack and cut all the way through to make six triangles. Press out excess water: place the tofu triangles in a large shallow dish on top of a clean tea towel (without terrycloth nubs.) Cover with another towel or paper towels. Place a second dish on top, one that fits inside the first, and place something heavy in the dish–I use my blender. After 5 or 10 minutes the tea towels will have absorbed excess water, and the tofu triangles will be easy to pick up.

Brush oil on the grill grates and preheat the grill to medium heat. Remove the tea towel and arrange the tofu on a plate. Spread generously with pesto.

Cook the tofu triangles, pesto side down first, 5 to 10 minutes. Spread pesto on top of the triangles and turn them over. Cook a few more minutes, then spread with more pesto. Turn off the grill and let the residual heat melt the pesto into the tofu. Serve on a bed of brown rice.

Makes 3 to 6 servings, depending on how much you like tofu.

Pesto tofu on rice with salad

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Pesto Potatoes

Pesto Potatoes on the Grill

Earlier today at work, as I walked from a busy bakery to my office, I passed one of the cooks opening tubs of tofu. I notice tofu, more than I would a pot of turkey chili, mostly because it’s not on the menu everyday at Deer Valley and more so because I love tofu! Before going home, I watched the same cook arrange those triangles of tofu, hot and emerald green with pesto, on a bed of arugula. At his urging, I helped myself to the extra piece on the back line—even knowing I was going to have pesto potatoes before the sun had set behind the mountain.

Robbie mentioned pesto potatoes this morning and he says he thought about them all day. He must have thought well, because the ones he made us for dinner were perfect.

Early Rose Potatoes

He used Early Rose potatoes from our Ranui Gardens CSA box and dipped into the stash of basil pesto  tucked away in our freezer. (Every time we’ve had basil in the box we make up a batch of pesto.)

Pesto Stash in random containers

Any time you cook potatoes, if you have organic ones, by all means scrub them and leave the skin on. The Early Rose potato has a thin and smooth skin.  If you don’t know your farmer and her growing practices, ask. Potatoes make the Dirty Dozen pesticide list, so it might be best to peel them if they have been sprayed. These are so good you can eat them with your fingers.

 Pesto Potatoes

4 to 6 potatoes, sliced crosswise 1/2- to 5/8 inch thick.

Olive oil, as needed

Basil Pesto, as needed

Par-cook the potatoes in a steamer or nuke them in the microwave until they have begun to cook but are still pretty firm. (You can cook them entirely on the grill but it takes a lot longer. The par-cook step helps get dinner on the table sooner.)

Heat the grill to high if the potatoes are par-cooked, to medium high if not par-cooking them.)

Brush both sides of the potato slices with olive oil. Arrange them in a single layer on a grilling tray.  and cook until the potatoes are fork-tender and have some golden grill color, turning the potatoes to cook both sides. Brush one side of the potatoes with pesto and cook about 10 minutes more, until the pesto becomes part of the potato.

Serve immediately.

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How to sell beets to a beet hater

• Start with golden beets, they are sweeter and the earthy flavor inherent in beets is less than in the red ones.
• Roast the beets, in the oven or on the grill—the result is concentrated sweetness–much more yummy than if the beets were boiled.
• Catch the beet-hater off guard by tossing roasted golden beets into a grain salad with spicy vinaigrette.
• When you acquire beets topped with greens as gorgeous as the ones in today’s Ranui Gardens’ CSA box—wilt the greens and incorporate them into the salad.
• Add roasted chopped walnuts and a bit of feta cheese, for crunch and saltiness.
  

  Golden Beets and their Greens

Barley Salad with Golden Beets and their Greens

4 medium beets with their green tops

1 cup pearl barley, rinsed

½ teaspoon plus another ½ teaspoon Real Salt

1 tablespoon coconut oil

2 teaspoons yellow mustard seeds

2 teaspoons cumin seeds

1 cup chopped red onion

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons rice vinegar or freshly squeezed lemon juice

Up to 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 or 3 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

½ cup coarsely chopped walnuts, lightly toasted

Heat a grill or oven to medium-high or 350° F. Cut the tops off the beets and set them aside. Gently scrub any dirt from the beets and wrap them up in foil. Roast the beets on the grill until they are-fork-tender, 45 minutes to an hour. Let them cool until you can handle them and remove the peel with your fingers. Dice the beets into ½-inch cubes.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan bring 3 to 4 cups of water to a boil. Stir in the barley and ½ teaspoon of the salt and return to a simmer. Cook until the barley is tender to your tooth, about 30 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Wash the beet greens. Strip away and discard the stems.  Cut the greens into ribbons, about ¼-inch thick.

Heat the coconut oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the mustard and cumin seeds along with the onion and and cook until the onion turns translucent. the mustard seeds will pop. Add the beet greens and cook, stirring every so often, until the greens have wilted, about 5 minutes.

Mix the beets, barley and wilted greens in a bowl. In another bowl, whisk the olive oil with the vinegar, the remaining salt and the cayenne. (Use less cayenne if you want the salad less spicy.) Pour over the beets, barley and greens, and stir until everything is coated with the dressing. Refrigerate until the beets and barley are cold.

To serve, toss in the feta and walnuts. Taste and adjust the salt and cayenne if you determine the salad needs more seasoning.

Makes about 6 cups.

Golden Beet and Barley Salad

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Real Salt, Summer Savory and Garlic

Real Salt, Summer Savory and Garlic

Let’s talk about salt, the mineral that we eat, critical ingredient in cooking, enhancer/improver of food, sodium chloride, sprinkled throughout world history for many reasons more than culinary.

Is all salt the same NaCl, sodium chloride, be it table salt, kosher salt, flake salt, rock salt or sea salt?

Technically and chemically yes, salt is salt, but there is more to salt than sodium chloride, and I’d like to convince you to go think that way when it comes to buying, seasoning with, eating and enjoying salt.

I think I have known for a long time that salt is not all the same, that industrial refined sodium chloride is different (and less healthful) than salt that’s allowed to keep more of its natural qualities, be it mined salt or evaporated salt. A couple of years ago I attended a salt tasting workshop in Portland, Oregon. Our “selmelier” was Mark Bitterman, who showed us in a short two hours how geography and environment (terroir) and production methods can affect the crystallized shapes, flavor, color and mineral makeup of salt. We tasted more than 20 salts, including flaked salt from Japan, evaporated over fire, fine delicate grey salt skimmed from the sea and evaporated by the sun, and pink rock salt mined in Pakistan.

Then I read his book, Salted: A Manifesto on the World’s Most Essential Mineral, with Recipes. Bitterman teaches readers how and why and to appreciate salt’s diversity, especially when it comes to the kitchen. He talks about the craft and history of salt, with sidebars about our sense of taste, the science of salt and its relationship to our body, and the iodization of salt. Since reading his book, I have expanded my pantry to include some wonderful “finishing” salts. I love the sweet flavor of Murray River flake salt from Australia on fresh vegetables and the aromatic way black truffle salt dresses up potatoes and eggs.

For a good personal tasting illustration, try fleur de sel from France contrasted against Morton kosher salt, a tiny pinch of each salt baked as a finish on a buttery chocolate shortbread. See for yourself.

Why do I specify Real Salt in many if not most of my recipes? It’s a good cooking salt, for pasta water and baking, any time the salt will dissolve in the food. Real Salt is mined in Central Utah, near the town of Redmond. It comes to us unrefined, with more than 60 trace minerals intact. It is not processed by heat nor does it come from a huge industrial plant that makes sodium chloride mainly for fertilizer and deicing. (I am not paid by Redmond Trading Company to say this, nor do they give me free salt.)

I like the sweet (as opposed to bitter) taste of Real Salt and its slight pink color, and the calico flecks of brown and grey from the extra minerals. (But, give Real Salt the chocolate shortbread taste test above and you’ll hopefully see why there are better tasting salts for supplying the final “finish” sparkle to food.)

My friend Teri excitedly called me a couple of weeks ago about a salt recipe with fresh herbs and garlic. She listens to The Splendid Table on NPR religiously every weekend and had just heard Sally Schneider describe Tuscan Herb Salt. I missed the initial airing of Sally’s conversation with host Lynne Rosetto Kasper, but not to worry–The Splendid Table is easy to hear later as a podcast and the website has the recipe links and more. Teri knew Sally’s recipe would be fabulous with most garden-fresh herbs. Here is my version with this week’s Ranui Gardens CSA summer savory. Try it on fresh sliced tomatoes or lightly steamed green beans.

summer savory salt

Real Salt, Summer Savory and Garlic

1 clove garlic, peeled

2 teaspoons plus 4 teaspoons larger flake salt (like kosher)

½ cup fresh summer savory leaves

Drop the garlic and 2 teaspoons of the salt into the work bowl of a food processor while the food processor is running and process until the garlic is uniformly chopped. Add the summer savory leaves and pulse until the leaves are well chopped. Transfer to a baking sheet and mix in the remaining salt. Let the pan sit out for a few days until the herbs and garlic are obviously dry. Store in a jar.

Makes about 1/3 cup.

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Baked Zucchini, Rice and Eggs

ribbed Roman zucchini

If we have zucchini in our Ranui Gardens CSA box this week—this must be summer. I can hardly wait for our tomatoes! This zucchini is ribbed Roman zucchini, Costata Romanesca, a varietal more flavorful and in my mind a step above the insipid green zucchini found commercially year round.
We also have shallots and marjoram and summer savory in our pick–here is an easy dish to show off all 4 garden-fresh goodies. Besides, I seem to always have a cup or so of leftover rice in the freezer since I cook up more than feeds the two of us with my 2 cups water: 1 cup rice ratio.
Sorry about asking you heat up the oven in this hot weather–know that you can prepare and bake this recipe before the temperature climbs to its daily high, either first thing in the morning or after dinner. It’s delicious hot, warm or cold. The cheese and breadcrumbs on top gets golden brown and crunchy: make in a shallow dish so every serving has some yummy topping.

shallots, marjoram, summer savory and chopped zucchini

1 slice whole grain bread, lightly toasted

1/3 cup toasted sunflower seeds, optional
2 tablespoons plus 1 tablespoon olive oil
About 1 cup finely chopped shallots
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 to 4 small/medium zucchini, cut in ½-inch cubes, 4 to 5 cups
1 teaspoon fresh marjoram leaves, chopped
1 teaspoon chopped fresh summer savory
1 cup cooked brown rice or quinoa
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup grated cheese, cooks choice
½ teaspoon Real salt
Pinch cayenne pepper
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly coat a deep pie dish or an 8 x 8 baking dish (2 quart) with olive oil.
In a food processor, grind the toasted bread and sunflower seeds into crumbs. Set aside. (You can substitute panko or other ready-made breadcrumbs, if preferred.)
In a skillet over medium flame, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil. Add the shallots and garlic and cook and stir 4 to 5 minutes, until the shallots are translucent. Stir in the diced zucchini. Cook and stir until the squash softens, but remove from the heat before it turns mushy, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chopped herbs and the cooked rice. Add the eggs and about half of the cheese along with the salt and cayenne. Transfer to the prepared baking dish.
Evenly sprinkle the remaining cheese topped by the breadcrumbs. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil. Bake about 45 minutes, until the top is golden brown. Let sit a few minutes before cutting.
Makes about 6 servings.

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Chard Enchiladas

I wrote an article about spinach and chard for Salt Lake City’s monthly Catalyst Magazine, June 2012 issue. Enjoy my story and recipe for Chard Enchiladas.

“Enchilada” literally translates to “seasoned with chile sauce.” Most of us are familiar with the Tex-Mex version, filled with chicken or other meat, and gooey with melted cheese. Truly, enchilada variations are endless. You can include beans, maybe black or pinto. Or switch to whole wheat flour tortillas instead of corn tortillas. “Stack” the tortillas, with filling and sauce in between instead of rolling the filling inside each tortilla. The sauce can be green or red, purchased or homemade, it all depends on what’s in the pantry and how much time you have to prepare it all.

Cotija cheese, which is akin to Greek feta, is the classic enchilada cheese; try cheddar or Monterey jack instead—or since these enchiladas are fairly mild in their heat quotient—substitute pepper jack cheese if you want them more incendiary. Vegan cooks can skip the cheese altogether.

I learned to make enchiladas from my mother, who learned from a neighbor who owned a Mexican grocery store. Mom and many Mexican cooks fry their corn tortillas in oil to make them pliable, so they don’t absorb too much sauce and easily disintegrate. In the interest of lowering calorie content, mist the tortillas with cooking oil and warm them in the oven. Bathe the tortillas in sauce just before baking, as in the recipe below. Fresh jalapeño chile, especially with the seeds removed, is quite mild and hardly detectable in the filling; again if you want more “picante” heat, mince the jalapeño including its seeds. And if you don’t have a fresh jalapeño, use a smoked one from the can–these are the chipotles en adobo you may have used in chipotle mayonnaise or another recipe with Southwestern flavors.

As far as the yield, it will depend on the diameter of the tortillas and how much filling you put in each tortilla. Be cautious not to overfill, so you can easily roll the tortillas. It seems there is always more of one filling item leftover—just fill the last tortilla with whatever is left. Makes about 6 servings.

Chard Enchiladas

1 bunch chard, or fresh spinach, about 1 pound

2 tablespoons olive, canola or grapeseed oil

1 medium onion, cut in ¼-inch dice

1 or 2 cloves garlic, minced

1 jalapeño chile, seeds removed, minced

¼ cup chopped cilantro leaves

½ teaspoon dried or 2 tablespoons fresh minced oregano

1 tablespoon balsamic or red wine vinegar

Salt, as needed

12 to 14 (preferably organic) corn tortillas

Oil mist, from purchased cooking spray, or from a refillable pump oil sprayer

1 bunch green onions, cut in ¼-inch dice

½ cup sliced black olives

8 ounces Cotija or feta cheese, crumbled

2 cups enchilada sauce, purchased or homemade

Wash the chard well. Trim the leaves away from the ribs. Cut the ribs in ¼-inch pieces and set aside, and then chop the leaves in 1-inch strips.

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir the onion, chard ribs, garlic and chile for 5 to 10 minutes, until the onion is translucent and the chard ribs are soft. Add the chard leaves, the cilantro and the oregano and continue to cook and stir until the chard leaves have wilted and shrunk in volume. Sprinkle with the vinegar and season to taste with salt.

Pre-heat oven to 350° F. Lightly coat a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with oil and spread about ¼ cup of the enchilada sauce around the oiled dish. Place tortillas on a baking sheet, 4 to 6 to a pan, depending on the size of your pan. Lightly mist both sides of the tortillas with cooking spray. Heat in the oven 3 to 5 minutes, until the tortillas are soft and pliable, no more.

Fill the tortillas in assembly line fashion, filling all the warmed ones on the pan before rolling them and placing them in the baking dish. With your fingers, spread a heaping tablespoon of the chard filling down the middle of each tortilla. Follow with a sprinkling of the green onions and olives, and finally with about a tablespoon of the cheese. Roll the tortillas around the filling and place them seam side down in the dish. Mist, heat and fill the rest of the tortillas repeating the first assembly line. (You can cover the pan at this point and refrigerate overnight..)

Ladle the enchilada sauce over the rolled tortillas, making a point to cover the ends first and spreading lightly over the middle. You want to be sparing vs. generous with the sauce, even if there are thumbnail patches of tortillas showing. Sprinkle with cheese or olives, for optional eye appeal. Bake until heated through, about 20 minutes.

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Basil and Arugula Pesto

Lush Basil

When life gives you basil, make pesto. Pesto stash in the freezer will brighten any winter day—and stirred into pasta, ooh-la-la. Make a point to use at least some of your fresh pesto immediately—it is the essence of summer. Lick it off a spoon if you must. Pack any remainder away in the freezer.

This is my basic pesto recipe. I use all basil if that is what I have, but it’s fun to add other greens too. And don’t be stuck on walnuts for the nuts. Feeling luxurious? Use pine nuts. Sometimes the only nuts I have in the pantry are sunflower seeds and I toast and grind them instead. Pesto is also wonderful with pecans or pumpkin seeds. Deer Valley chefs use sliced almonds.

Basil and Arugula Pesto

2 large garlic cloves

3 ounces Parmesan cheese, broken in pieces or already grated (don’t even think of using that sawdust in the green can)

1 cup tightly packed stemmed fresh basil

1 cup tightly packed arugula leaves

1/2 cup walnuts

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

With the motor of the food processor running, mince the garlic by dropping it through the feed tube. Process until it is very fine. Add the cheese, basil, walnuts and salt. Process for about 10 seconds, stopping to move things around if they get hung up. With the machine running, pour oil through the feed tube in a thin stream, processing until everything is well blended.

Makes about 1 cup.

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Touchon Carrot Salad with Smoked Paprika

Smoked Paprika and Murray River Flake Salt

Spanish pimenton, it’s the spice of the year in my radar. I ordered this smoked ground pimiento peppers from World Spice Merchants in Seattle a few years ago and had not used it much–now I am seduced. Not like the paprika your Mom sprinkled on deviled eggs, but mysterious, subtly smoked paprika magically turns eggs and sautéed greens from simple to simply enchanting. For my birthday party, we made roasted garbanzos as one of the appetizers—and it was such a huge batch I just about used up the rediscovered jar of fire-red smooth powder. That would not be good. Isn’t it true that once something good is brought to your attention you notice it more and more? It feels like half of the recipes I see these days call for smoked paprika. And recently cruising the big box aisles at Costco, I spotted—you guessed it—smoked paprika in a mondo container. There is no comparison in a taste test—I have become addicted to the much deeper flavor of high-quality smoked paprika.

I had to make a special trip to Seattle. OK, just a wee side trip to the Pike Place store of World Spice Merchants while I was there visiting my sisters, aunt, niece and nephew.

VW family

World Spice Merchants ships all over the world and they sell spices from all over the world. I stepped up to the counter and placed my order. The clerk apologized, “I am sorry we are out of smoked paprika. We have the picanté smoked paprika in stock.” Why not, I’d made a special trip and was not going to leave empty handed.

Macrina lemon and lavender loaf

Another great Seattle destination is Macrina Bakery.

This week we have sweet touchon carrots in our Ranui Gardens CSA box. Dulce or picanté, smoked paprika in the dressing is a nice twist.

After you scrub or peel the carrots, make strips with the peeler. It’s a different flourish instead of familiar grated or diced carrot. Aim for 3/8 to ½-inch wide strips, working your way around as you peel.

Touchon Carrot Salad with Smoked Paprika

3 cups carrot strips

2 tablespoons sherry wine vinegar or fresh –squeezed lemon juice

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon honey

Real Salt, to taste

Smoked paprika, to taste

Whisk the vinegar, olive oil and honey, adding a scant ¼ teaspoon of salt. Start with a pinch of the paprika and mix that in.

Mix the vinaigrette and the carrots in a bowl, cover and chill for at least an hour. Taste and correct the seasoning, adding more salt and paprika to your liking.

Serves 3 to 6.

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Green Garlic, Basil and Edamame Salad

Bright green, freshly frozen and shucked, edamame is soybeans, right out of the bean pod. Perhaps you have enjoyed edamame in the shell as finger food, sprinkled with high quality finishing salt, at a sushi restaurant or at Deer Valley’s Royal Street Café. Edamame adds color (and protein) to any salad, and works well in any dish where you might normally use cold beans or green peas. Since we have sweet basil in our Ranui Gardens CSA box this week, it’s in this salad. Chiffonade/slice the basil leaves and add them at the last minute. Or feel free to skip the basil and substitute a different herb, such as chopped flat leaf parsley. This week’s green garlic is looking more mature than two weeks ago and more like the garlic we will see in a couple of weeks with its papery skin skin separating each clove. Now it is still very moist and maybe at the most flavorful of its cycle.

1 ½ cups frozen shelled edamame

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

2 stalks green garlic, trimmed and minced

2 tablespoons fresh basil, cut in chiffonade

¼ cup grated aged cheese, like Parmesan

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add some salt and the edamame. Cook 3 to 4 minutes, and then drain the edamame. Place in a bowl and stir in the olive oil, vinegar, garlic, basil and cheese. When everything is mixed, season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper. Toss again and serve over Ranui lettuce mix.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

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